New York City FC Head Coach Pascal Jansen has shared his thoughts on the roster, the team’s mindset heading into the closing stretch of the MLS regular season, and this weekend’s clash with FC Cincinnati.
Jansen’s side will travel to Ohio for a Saturday night showdown with top-of-the-table FC Cincinnati, coached by Pat Noonan. Speaking ahead of the match, Jansen expressed his thoughts on the threat Cincinnati poses.
“It's a very, very good team,” Jansen said. “They had a great start to the season. I remember we played a good game against each other when they came to New York. We're looking forward to playing this game in Cincinnati as well, but it's almost obvious that they are a good team. However, they've been somewhat struggling in the past few games, also if you include the Leagues Cup in that run, conceding quite a few goals.
“They got back together in the last game against Portland [winning 3-2], if I'm not mistaken. We have to make sure that we keep them in that spot [from our previous game] and try to get that level of play that we did in game one.”
The Dutch coach was speaking on the final day of the MLS transfer window. New York City has added two players during the window—Nicolás Fernández Mercua and Raúl Gustavo—and Jansen reflected on the state of the Club’s roster.
“I'm happy with the roster,” Jansen said. “As I mentioned a couple of times, we will use the windows in order to strengthen our squad. And with Raúl Gustavo coming in, I think we made a good choice bringing him in, and we can't wait to see him. The window hasn't closed yet, so who knows what will happen today. We'll have to wait and see.”
Elsewhere, Jansen was asked about the team’s recent slow starts, including against Nashville SC, when the team fell behind after ten minutes. Discussing the importance of Matt Freese in goal, Jansen also pointed to the team consistently displaying the right mindset.
“That was the question I asked my boys as well, because the way we prepare ourselves is exactly the opposite [to starting slow],” Jansen said. “So it was a surprise for me as well. On the other hand, the game is the game—things happen. It was a few guys that weren't switched on just yet.
“We're very grateful for the fact that we have Matt Freese, and Matt kept us in the game, and we also know that if something does go wrong, we have one of the best goalkeepers in the country that can help us out.”
He went on to add: “But that shouldn’t be something to always rely on. You have to get your things together before these moments occur in the game. So we were fortunate to get it done after 10–15 minutes, and that's when we started to control the game more and more. But that is the million-dollar question still. I think it's based on having the right mindset going into the game from the get-go, and that goes for everyone, especially in big games.”
Looking ahead, Jansen emphasized the importance of consistency and focus across the final matches of the campaign as New York City continues to chase a playoff spot.
“We approach this final stage in the league as 10 finals, starting with Nashville, and now the next one will be Cincinnati, away,” he said. “That will be the approach until the final game of the MLS season is played, because our bigger goal is to get into the playoffs. So we have to take it game by game and look at the availability of players and just get the strongest squad out there on the pitch.”
